1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to tool belts and fabric caddies useful for carrying items. In particular, this invention relates to user-wearable apparatus used to carry additional supplies of paintballs while playing paintball war games.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The sport of paintball war games continues to grow in popularity. During these war games, participants shoot frangible plastic balls full of a liquid dye at their opponents. Participants are excluded from further play once they have been hit and marked by a paintball. The games are sometimes intensely competitive, requiring a participant to aim a gun, also known as a marker, at an opponent while pursuing, fleeing, dodging, or running for cover. During the game, a participant might discharge between several hundred and one thousand or more paintballs. Because a typical marker storage hopper has a finite paintball storage capacity, generally ranging from 200 to 250, the participant must reload the marker several times during game play. This is done by pouring painitballs from a cylindrical reloading container, known as a “pod,” into the marker hopper. The pod has a snap-closed cap at one end and contains between 100 and 150 paintballs. The pods must be carries by the player to enable rapid reloading of the marker. Due to the large number of paintballs expended during a typical game, the player must carry several paintball pods during the game. The prior art has provided several types of paintball container carrying belts. The most common example of carrier has a series of pockets formed against the outside surface of the belt. Each pocket can securely nest one paintball container. A paintball player's belt may also be encumbered and burdened by other articles hanging from it or secured to it, such as replacement goggles, flashlight, radio communication device, pouches of cleaning wipes and other miscellany, to a point where only a very small number of paintball pods can be accommodated.
In tournament competition, game duration is on the order of a few minutes. Players are vulnerable while reloading their marker, so it is highly desirable for the marker reloading to be accomplished in the least amount of time possible. Numerous carriers exist to fill this need. U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,953 by Andresen discloses a large paintball container combined with an automatic feed apparatus capable of delivering paintballs directly from the bulk storage container to the paintball marker's firing chamber. Since Andresen's storage hopper is worn by the player instead of mounted directly on the marker, the size of the storage hopper may be increased to suit the needs of specific paintball games. Having a larger stored volume of paintballs eliminates the need to carry additional storage pods. Andresen is disadvantaged by having a relatively long feed tube extending from the loader drive mechanism to the marker's firing chamber that can lead to jamming. A jam in the feeding mechanism effectively eliminates the player from the game and is therefore highly undesirable. The size of the combined storage hopper and automatic feed apparatus also makes the Andresen invention bulky and could inhibit the player's movement.
Several variations of an ammunition belt are known, each based on the paintball storage pods common in the sport. U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,642 by Herbage discloses a modular carrier assembly that includes a belt and a readily detachable pack capable of storing paintball pods. The pack fasteners allow the pack to be quickly removed so that paintball pods can be easily accessed without requiring the wearer to reach around to the pack location. The Herbage carrier requires that the player first remove the pack then remove a paintball pod to refill the hopper on the paintball marker. Replacing the pack following the reloading procedure requires an extra, time-consuming step. Additionally, since the pack is located on the player's back, the player must reach around to his/her back in order to reattach the pack.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,558 by Callanta discloses a paintball pod carrying belt having multiple elastic loops that secure multiple paintball pods in a vertical orientation along the wearer's back. Each loop includes a flap for the bottom that allows the bottom of the loop to be closed to prevent pods from slipping out. The flaps are secured to the belt on one end and to the loop with a hook and loop fastener on the other end. Opening the flap allows the pod to be removed. Locations of the loops on the Callanta belt are fixed. The player is forced to reach further around his/her back to reach pods held in the center loops than those held in the peripheral loops. Additionally, a player is forced to reach around to the opposite side of his/her back in the event that player chooses to use the same hand to remove all pod to avoid having to release or change grip on the paintball marker.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,399 by Garcia discloses a belt caddy for carrying a paintball pods using a combination of elastic and hook and loop fasteners. An elastic band encircles each paintball pod. The outer circumference of the bands are covered in near-equal proportions by the first and second sides of hook and loop fastener material. The belt includes a pair of cooperating straps that are lined with the first and second sides of the hook and loop fastener material. The straps then encircle the pods and hold them in place by virtue of the hook and loop fasteners. The pods may be individually removed by sliding them out of their elastic bands. The Garcia disclosure allows a variable number of pods to be carried depending on the needs of the particular paintball game. However, as with the Callanta disclosure, the player is forced to reach around to his/her back and locate a loop containing a pod. As more pods are removed, more time is needed to locate a pod.
The present invention improves upon the limitations of the known art by providing a paintball pod carrier that places a full pod in the same relative position each time the player reaches for a pod. It also places the pods such that the player is not required to reach around to the central region of his/her back in order to grasp the paintball pod. These improvements decrease the time required for a paintball game player to refill the paintball marker hopper thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the paintball game player.